Just a Swingin' .........

You can not imagine 50 below, until you live it

Photography by Julie Saari

Ashley H.

Filming “Common Ground”

North East of Bemidji

April 2010

Ashley was the one to contact me. She asked me if I would take part in her LPTV show Common Ground. I was so new into my project this prospect made me nervous. We met and discussed the possibility at a downtown coffee shop. When we left I was going to take part in Ashley’s show and she was going to participate in my project. She would be filming me taking pics of someone and I in turn would take pics of her filming someone,a very snake eating it’s own tail tale. What I learned is Ashley is learning to live in the Greater North. Brought here temporarily for a job, she is staying for reasons not listed in the travel brochure.

This is Ashley:

I was offered a job, I was moving to a new city! Life, as I knew it, was great! I received a packet in the mail from the Bemidji Chamber of Commerce, including ALL the information I needed to know about the city of Bemidji. Sure, the temperature looked colder…. and my friend’s eye’s nearly bugged out their heads when they saw 50 below in all of that information…but, it never really impacted me?

I guess, a naïve Ohio girl had never felt 50 below, so it was no big shake. I was ready!

Read more about Ashley HERE

Permanent and I am not talking about Sharpies

I got a tattoo today. Actually I got 5 tattoos today. 5 birds.













Birds can go anywhere. They are able to fly anywhere in the world- yet they tend to stay near the place they were born.











Birds leave the nest, they fly off. Some go as far as other continents, yet they always remember where home is.














Birds are beautiful


1 bird for each of my children on my shoulder
1 on my wrist for my little girlie who did not stay here on Earth... she has already taken flight.

Do women ever grow up

I was in my favorite coffee shop this morning. It was busier than normal. Too busy for my taste. I am used to being there during the quite part of the day- to pay my bills, balance my check book, read, etc. It is like my office away from my house (as is it for many)

It was loud today however, too loud for my reading - even with my mp3 player. I gave in and just sat for a moment trying to pick up on the conversations - listen without gawking sort of thing. (you know that, I know you do)

There were three older (70ish) ladies two tables over from me. Listening to their conversation ended up being quite hilarious and a bit eye opening. Their conversation was basically that of a group of thirty year old woman mixed in with some complaints about technology from the one. Honestly, do we as women never grow up and move on from the same gripes? Husbands, kids, family, one was quite hung up on the de-personalization of humanity due to Facebook..... can we not move past the same thing and find something better to talk about? As I said, it was both good for a giggle and eye -opening.

When I am 70(ish) and hopefully able to hang out with my "coffee chickas" I will make it my goal to bring up interesting things to talk about.... a bit more philosophical. I will try to get my group to use their experience and wisdom to pull out a decent conversation.... like-> do you think that major events (births, deaths, tragedies, etc) define us as a person? make us who we are?

However, I probably will just be bitching about my husband and kids.

Woodshed Wisdom

There are some things I was thinking about as I split wood on Mother's Day. I started telling these bits of knowledge to my daughter as she watched me work. I realized I was spouting off some pretty good "Woodshed Wisdom" I ran to get a piece of paper - good thoughts are rare these days, wouldn't want to let them go to waste!

A lot of what holds true to logs seems to hold true to people:

* Anything will break if you hit it in the right spot

*The logs that are the hardest to deal with are those that are spoiled rotten inside

*Letting go at just the right time is key to not getting hurt

*Read a log before trying to split it- it will tell you where to hit- much like people

*If you are too tired to do the job it is near impossible

*Start with the biggest, hardest logs- you will be too tired at the end to split them.
Conquer the toughest task first

*If you keep your eye on the target and swing hard you won't miss. Closing your eyes or being hesitant will lead to failure.

*Use momentum

*A log much like a family- is strongest where all it's branches come together.

*You have to work around a knot, you can not break it.

*The base of a tree is toughest for it has the most experience/years on it.

Manual labor can give a person perspective

Warning- You are about to see my "mom pants" also known as my work jeans.... they keep everything where it is suppose to be.

Yes, logs were hurt in the making of this slideshow- deal with it!



Pictures taken by Addie with Nikon D60
in three separate attempts (to get the whole sequence)

Meet Kirby

Photography by Julie Saari

Kirby
Movil Maze
Northeast of Bemidji
April 2010

I had just finished a meeting downtown. A truck with a trailer pulled up and parked as I crossed the street heading toward my vehicle. The emblem on the side resembled that of a super hero, and maybe Kirby (The Bike Guy) is a super hero, at least in the world of bikers. Kirby grew tired of trying to make a living and decided to try to earn money doing what he liked instead. This decision seems to have served him well. Mobile bike repair with same or next day service is something this town obviously needed. But there is a man behind the business

Meet Kirby H. (aka The Bike Guy):

Water, pine trees, wood smoke and ‘smores, that was the beginning of my personal Bemidji. I guess I am lucky that my parents loved to camp. When I was a kid the word “Bemidji” was magic. I have heard it said that a picture is worth a thousand words, but to an eight year old growing up in the middle of the Red River Valley, the word “Bemidji” conjured up a thousand pictures. Here a few words about my town, you will have to fill in your pictures yourself.

Summer, the camping was in the summer.............

To read more go HERE

To see the photo shoot go HERE

I am: a mom, yet more

I am:

I am a mom

I am blessed x 4

I am a wife

I am a business owner

Yet I am still a woman
(who is still wild/untamed)

I am a work in progress

Love me for who I am
Appreciate me for who I am trying to become
Don't try to change me, rather enjoy it
You can't hold back the wind.

I posted over here too - a note to my daughter (more pics too)
I wrote a post here - for my son (a pic too)
Mother's Day funny below